July 16, 2010

The Rights and Wrongs of Retirement Advice

Youve probably heard lots of retirement advice. But one economist says much of that advice is wrong. Hell explain why you need to spend till the end. Then, there are countless millions of immigrants in the US, but how well are they fitting in? A researcher has the cold hard facts. Plus - a report on how the news is reported. We look at the state of the news media in the US.

Episode Segments:

InfoTrak: Are You Prepared to Spend Till the End? Dr. Laurence J. Kotlikoff, Professor of Economics at Boston University says that much of todays retirement planning advice is misguided. He believes that the investment and financial planning industry has set saving and insurance targets that are much too high for the average investor. The result is that many people are scrimping and saving during the years that they could be enjoying their money.
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InfoTrak: Assimilation of Immigrants Dr. Jacob L. Vigdor is Associate Professor of Public Policy Studies and Economics at Duke University, and Faculty Research Fellow at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Dr. Vigdor recently completed a study that measured the assimilation of Americas immigrant population, and how it compares to past generations of immigrants. He explains the underlying reasons why certain groups of immigrants lag in areas such as cultural and economic assimilation and how government policies have a direct affect on assimilation.
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InfoTrak: Taking Measure of the Media Tom Rosenstiel, Director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a non-partisan research organization that studies the performance of the press discusses the current state of the nations print and electronic media. He talks about the underlying business ills faced by many media companies, how that has affected media coverage and how technological advances have changed the stories presented by the media.
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Laurence Kotlikoff Laurence J. Kotlikoff is Professor of Economics at Boston University, Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow of the Econometric Society, and President of Economic Security Planning, Inc. Professor Kotlikoff received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973 and his Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University in 1977. From 1977 through 1983 he served on the faculties of economics of the University of California, Los Angeles and Yale University. In 1981-82 Professor Kotlikoff was a Senior Economist with the President's Council of Economic Advisers. Professor Kotlikoff has served as a consultant to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Harvard Institute for International Development, the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Joint Committee on Taxation, The Commonwealth of Massachusetts, numerous nations around the globe, and many major U.S. corporations. Professor Kotlikoff is author or co-author of 13 books and hundreds of professional journal articles. Click here to visit his website

Tom Rosenstiel Tom Rosenstiel designed the Project for Excellence in Journalism and directs its activities. He also serves as vice chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, an initiative engaged in conducting a national conversation among journalists about standards and values. A journalist for more than 20 years, he is a former media critic for the Los Angeles Times and chief congressional correspondent for Newsweek magazine. He is the editor and principal author of PEJ’s Annual Report on the State of the News Media, a comprehensive report on the health of American journalism. He also directs the Project's content analysis reports on the performance of the press. Rosenstiel is also co-author of the CCJ's "Traveling Curriculum," an ongoing education program that since 2001 has trained more than 6,000 journalists in print, TV and online newsrooms nationwide. His writing also has appeared in such publications as Esquire, The New Republic, The New York Times, Columbia Journalism Review and The Washington Monthly. Journalism.org